Howe proved to be a thorn in the side for Crispus Attucks, winning a physical and back-and-forth game 70-67 in the city tournament quarterfinals on Thursday.

The teams have faced each other six times now, and Howe claims victory in five of those. Attucks’ only win over the Hornets came last season in its championship run.

The game was fast, intense and dramatic. Players tripped. Fans booed. Refs gave players warnings. Fans cheered. It was Indiana basketball.

Attucks, a No. 2 seed in the tournament, came in ranked No. 3 in Class 3A. Howe was a No. 7 seed and is ranked No. 12 in Class 2A. Howe coach Kristoff Kendrick said this win is big for his team because of the caliber of the opponent.

“Attucks is really good,” he said. “A team like that is going to fight, they’re not going to go away and they’re going to keep playing. That’s what they did, and they continued to come back and not let us run away with it.”

Attucks started with the quick lead, scoring the first points. But the theme of the game quickly showed itself.

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After the Tigers’ first buckets, Howe came into its own and went on a tear. The Hornets stretched the lead out to nearly 10 as the first quarter closed. Then, in the blink of an eye, a 6-0 run from Attucks' Derrick Briscoe tied the score at 23.

Howe got back into form after a timeout and dominated the remainder of the half. The Hornets stretched the lead to 36-28 at halftime.

Attucks closed the lead within two points not even 2 minutes into the third quarter. The Tigers soon tied it at 44, but by the end of the third quarter, Howe had a five-point lead.

Howe’s lead stayed steady during the fourth quarter, but Attucks closed withing three with 30 to go.

The physicality of the game hit a boiling point with 3 minutes left. Howe’s Jamil Turner-Hall went down hard, and Attucks’ Harold Bennett appeared to be the culprit. Turner-Hall took to the bench quickly, and a referee said under a rowdy crowd, “I’m watching you.”

Turner-Hall said he knew coming into the game that it was going to be rough and that he and his teammates had to keep their composure.

“We knew they were going to come in here and try to out play us and play a little dirty,” he said. “We knew we just had to keep our minds and play hard.”

Turner-Hall led the Hornets with 26 points, and Bradon Bellamy scored 21. Jamal Harris led Attucks with 20 points and Derrick Briscoe had 17.

“For us, this is a statement win,” Howe's Kendrick said. “It really shows our guys how good they can be. We’ve beat some good basketball teams this year. This is a very, very good basketball team.”